BERSAGLIERI HAT with its plume Italian Bersaglieri hat from the Italian army period, made of felt and leather adorned with an emblem in the Italian colours, mounted with the collar badges (gilded metal ornament depicting two rifles and two horns on a chain framing a flaming grenade). The Bersaglieri in Italian are a unit of the Italian Army ground forces. They were created by General Alessandro La Marmora in 1836 to serve in the Army of the Kingdom of Sardinia, which later became the Royal Italian Army. The uniform of this light infantry unit was characterised by its wide-brimmed hat called a ‘vaira’ in honour of Giuseppe Vayra, used only as a parade uniform in modern times, the hat is worn tilted to the right, covering half the eyebrow and the earlobe. The plume is made up of capercaillie feathers. It acts as a sunshade for the marksman's shooting eye.